Kings of Leon return covered in pigeon shit and still continuing with their commercial sound which has made them become one of the biggest selling bands in the world, but have they sold out to the man? In my opinion, the pigeons got it right.
Looking at the new album cover I thought it was a Ibiza Chillout album at first, doesn't look anything like a rock record. Even from their new video you can see the mainstream pouring out of every small African child, they do know the World Cup ended in July, right? However, the ‘Only by the Night’ fans will like this, having worn out ‘Sex On Fire’ for the last two years and alienating their original fan base, what have they got to offer with this album?
Well judging from their new single ‘Radioactive’ more of the same, even though they wrote the song between ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ and ‘Because of the Times’. Like the Arctic Monkeys I feel they have moved too far from what they originally were, from being ‘the Southern Strokes’ to more like ‘the Southern jokes’ – they’ve lost their rawness and edge. I personally think it all went downhill when they cut their hair, they didn’t just cut off their locks but their aha shake. Fair play, bands change, but for fans of their first two albums they aren’t the same. From seeing them at their biggest sell out gig of their career in Hyde Park in June, where most of the crowd looked blank when they played their back catalogue of hits, showcases what fans follow them now.
But hey, who cares, this will sell millions as they continue down the red carpet of commercial rock/pop. The question is will they give us true fans the likes of ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ and ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ ever again? Unlikely they’re too loaded to give a shit.
Their fifth studio album ‘Come Around Sundown’ is released on the 18th of October, with ‘Radioactive’ out on the 13th of September. If you’re the type of person who thinks ‘Only By the Night’ was the best KOL album, then this is for you.
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